ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

ORGANISATION DEFINED;
An Organization is a group of people bound together to provide unity of action for the achievement of a pre-determined objective. It is an entity and it is true of all business enterprise, churches, hospital, government, Entertainment, clubs etc.
KINDS OF ORGANISATION;
Organizations can be classified into two broad headings such as:
Formal organizations, and
Informal organizations
Formal organizations are a planned pattern of group behaviour designed to achieve an objective. Most relationships found in much business enterprise are formal.
The main reasons for formal organizations are:
1. To establish efficient and logical patterns of interrelationships among members of the group;
2. To secure advantages of specialization or division of labour whereby the optimum utilization of talents can be realized;
3. To coordinate activities of the component parts in order to facilitate the realization of the goals of the organization.
Informal organization is human interaction that occurs simultaneously and naturally without overt influence. It is a direct opposite to formal organization.
The organization chart or structure is a graphical or pictorial representation of a formal organization. It is a visual device that shows the various departments and how they relate to one another. The organization chart helps the employees, the board of directors and stockholders to see at a glance, the division of responsibility and lines of authority. It helps in studying how to modify or improve the relationships and areas of responsibilities within the organizational structure.
Below is a n example of an Organization Chart/Structure.

Board Of Directors
Responsible for policy formulation and approvals

Managing Director
Responsible for policy execution and implementation

Operations Manager
Accounts Manager
Personnel Manager
Sales And Marketing Manager
Maintenance Engineer
Distribution
Manager
Sales Manager
These positions are for those responsible for leading the departments and divisions below the Managing Director.

Factory Superintendent
Costing Accountant
Staff Superintendent
These positions are for those responsible for supervising the junior staff in order to achiev set targets.

Sound Organization Structure involves dividing activities into departments, divisions, units and sub-units, defining relationships between the heads and members that make up the units.

A good Organization structure has the following characteristics:
Identifies the operating departments (sales, operations and production departments);
Isolates the service departments (Personnel, Research, Accounts);
Places emphasis on balancing the structure;
Shows the role of committees in the organization.

FORMS OF ORGANISATION;
Organizations are formally arranged into Line and Staff relationships.
LINE DEPARTMENTS
Line departments are those departments that were set up to address the main objectives of the organization while Staff departments were set up to provide services for the line departments.
Authority in Line organizations flows from the Board of Director to the Managing Director and to lower management levels.
Every line Executive has identified responsibilities and authority assigned to him and has supporting staff to execute the functions.
A manager with line authority is answerable for the performance of his subordinates.
Those employees with line function are responsible for the immediate attainment of the organization’s objectives.
STAFF DEPARTMENTS
Staff departments have expert in their fields such as Accountants, Lawyers, Personnel Specialists, Engineers etc.
They advise the line Executives who are directly responsible for immediate attainment of the organizational goals.